The 120 days of the 2019 Legislative Session have finally come to an end. What did we get done?

This session at the Capitol was the busiest and mostproductive I’ve had in my three years at the legislature so far. Inaddition to the various bills I worked on, I took on the new roles ofserving as a member of the Joint Budget Committee and as the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Overall, there were a total of 598 bills introduced and by the end of thesession on May 3rd, we were able to successfully pass 462 of them. I am proud to report that we delivered significant progress in clean energy, protecting the environment, reforming our judicial system,investing in vital transportation projects, improving our education system,ensuring free and fair elections, and reducing the costs of ourhealthcare system.

I introduced 26 different bills and 23 of them passed through both chambers and will become law by next week. Below, I’ve included some of thehighlights–check out what we were able to get done this year:

Energy & Environment

Education

Transportation

Information Technology

Government Modernization

HB19-1003: Community Solar Gardens Modernization ActThis bill modernizes the Colorado community solar statues by increasing the capacity and scope of community solar garden projects.

SB19-096: Collect Long-term Climate Change DataThis bill requires the Air Quality Control Commission in the Dept. of Public Health and Environment to collect greenhouse gas emissions data, report on the data, including a forecast of future emissions, and propose rules to address the emissions to meet our state environmental goals.

SB19-236: Sunset Public Utilities CommissionThis historic bill provides for a robust and innovative modernization of the Public Utilities Commission. The bill requires the PUC to account for the cost of carbon emissions in utilities’ electric resource planning and put Colorado on a path to a carbon-free electricity sector; request and review workforce transition plans when utilities close a facility; maintain and strengthen ratepayer protections; issue financing orders for utilities to securitize stranded assets for quicker and more efficient cost recovery; research and investigate various forms of grid interconnection; and prioritize public benefit goals including safety, reliability, cost efficiency, emissions.

SB19-095: Five-year Review Of Higher Education Funding FormulaThis bill requires the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to conduct a review of the funding formula for higher ed institutions every five years to ensure implementation of state higher education goals.

SB19-137: Extend The Colorado Student Leaders InstituteThis bill extends funding for the Colorado Student Leaders Institute program until 2024. COSLI is a summer residential program that prepares students for college by fostering leadership, independence, innovativeness, initiative, critical thinking, and creativity.

SB19-077: Electric Motor Vehicles Public Utility ServicesThis bill expands electric motor vehicle infrastructure by allowing public utilities to apply to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to build facilities to support electric vehicles.

SB19-078: Open Internet Customer Protections In ColoradoAfter the repeal of federal net neutrality rules in 2017, internet services providers (ISPs) were left unregulated in their ability to throttle bandwidth, engage in paid prioritization, and block content. This bill mandates that any ISP in Colorado that receives state funding is prohibited from throttling, blocking, and paid prioritization and must ensure a free and open internet.

HB19-1332: Telephone Users Disabilities Fund Talking Book LibraryThis bill authorizes the use of money in the Colorado telephone users with disabilities fund to support talking book library services for persons who are blind and physically disabled.

HB19-1316: Modernizing Marriage Laws For MinorsThis bill establishes a minimum age of marriage in Colorado at age 18, and creates a judicial review process for 16-17 year olds seeking to get married by ensuring it is in their best interest, and provides rights for married minors.

SB19-165: Increase Parole Board MembershipThis bill adds two members to the 7-person State Parole Board to facilitate a more just and efficient judicial system.